Natural gas will play an important long-term part in reducing global carbon emissions in addition to its more immediate role of replacing coal to generate electric power, the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative said as it released its third annual report in London on Oct. 27.

OGCI issued the report as chief executives of the 10 multinational oil companies that are its members pledged to work toward near-zero emissions along the gas value chain. “We are also committed to ensure that natural gas continues to deliver its clear climate and clean air benefit compared to coal,” they jointly said.

The report acknowledged that some see gas only playing a role in the first stages of an energy transition, arguing that its widespread transportation systems and supplies could be obstacles to deeper emissions reductions in later decades. “Based on our analysis of long-term scenarios, we believe natural gas has a role to play not just in the coming decades, but in a low-emissions future too,” it said.

Gas technology and infrastructure are both scalable and flexible, which the report said are key features of a future-oriented energy system. “It can accommodate both centralized and decentralized energy generation. Technologies like power-to-gas that connect the electricity grid to the gas grid can store excess electricity and accelerate emissions reduction needed in home heating,” it indicated.

When combined with carbon capture and underground storage, “gas can become a very low-emission fuel for electricity production and industrial use, and be used to produce zero-emission hydrogen for a broad range of uses,” the report said.

Emissions rise, flaring falls

It noted that while methane emissions reported by seven of its members rose 24% in 2016, the overall volume of gas which was flared fell 2%.

Consolidation of a major acquisition by one company and maintenance issues at another’s compression facilities led to last year’s methane emissions increase, the report said. Emissions have grown 9% in the past decade and 13% in the past 5 years, it said.

Flaring by companies, meanwhile, has dropped 28% in the past 10 years and fell 2% in the last 5 years, the report said. The reductions came as companies built infrastructure to capture associated gas in facilities acquired in recent years, it said.

The report said OCGI’s 2018 steps toward reaching its near-zero emissions goal along the gas value chain will include establishing a methodology to improve collection, verification, and reporting methane emissions data; developing a methane emissions baseline by the end of next year; and announcing a target at that time.

OCGI also plans to work with operators downstream from the point of sale to develop specific actions to improve quantification and mitigation actions, it added.

The group also said it will invest $1 billion in three ventures aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions.